237 Marketing + Web

Curious about great marketing agencies? So was I. 237 is saturated with talent and energy. Here’s how I got into it;

I first met Krista McCallum at a tasting room manager’s meeting at Stoller, where she presented on creating a destination website for clients. I remembered everything she taught us that evening, and turns out she remembered me too. After I reached out to her a few weeks ago, we quickly figured out how I could learn from her.

My marketing tasks have been slowing to a stagnant, repetitive pattern where I’ve stopped learning any new skills. The solution is to get to work at a company where I can begin learning once again. I thought about how to break the pattern and recalled that everything I learned from Krista had been incredibly useful, applicable to not only the winery, but my own blog.

So I looked up 237 Marketing + Web, Krista’s agency. First of all, I loved the clever thought process behind the name.

“When you love what you do, it’s easy to work 23:7.”

The further I dug into the company, the more intrigued I became. 237 is a micro agency that makes use of some of the most enthusiastic, brightest and most talented people I’ve ever met, especially Krista herself. I set up an introduction and met with her to figure out what I could do to be a part of the team. Turns out they needed an account executive (fancy word for account manager)!

Working in an agency structure is much more complicated than working in-house, but it’s incredibly rewarding. In an agency, you have multiple accounts (clients) and need to tailor yourself to their needs each and every day. In-house, you have one client and multiple projects. While you’re in an agency, you can apply your skills and expertise to different clients and scenarios. You learn to adapt, and leave things such as coding to the people on your team who can do it better than you. In-house, especially in a small business, you not only focus on what you’re trained for, but try to put on multiple other hats. So while you may be trying to focus on public relations or marketing, you are also trying to teach yourself how to build websites. Sometimes when you are stretched too thin you can’t think as well as you normally would have, and forget to focus.

So far, I’ve tried my hand at some project coordination and copy editing. Along with these enjoyably familiar tasks come the general learning period that’s part of every new job; figuring out who the contacts are, learning the software and systems, getting to know clients and learning things I never knew I never knew. (Do you know the difference between offset printing and laser printing? I didn’t.)

Some of the other things I’ve learned in the short time I’ve worked with Krista is that there is not nearly enough time in the day. I agreed to work 20 hours a week but I’m already at maximum capacity with a dozen projects, and I’m welcoming that familiar fear in my gut that tells me I’m going to learn something new or die trying.